“Low cost” rates: rejection of the only non-opposing guild

The decision of the Government to meet the demand of the “low cost” airlines with the elimination of the minimum fare band was not only rejected by the aviation unions opposed to the official policy. In addition, the Air Navigation Association (AAA) has just added its rejection, the only one of the six aeronautical guilds that, up to now, was in good agreement with Cambiemos.

“The Argentine Aircraft Association (AAA) led by Juan Pablo Brey rejected on Wednesday the decision informed by the Ministry of Transportation headed by Guillermo Dietrich to eliminate the minimum reference rate for round-trip tickets on national cabotage flights,” said the entity, through a statement.

On Monday, Transportation arranged that from August 15, regular passenger airlines will not be obliged to comply with the floor that applies to air fares. That band of prices is in force without modifications for four years, reason why it was already reduced, if the values ​​are passed to dollars, to less than a quarter of what it represented in 2014.

Even so, some airlines such as Flybondi and Norwegian have demanded that the government eliminate them completely, in order to sell some seats of each flight directly at the auction price. Dietrich acceded to this claim, albeit with some restriction: it will only be possible to sell without fare floor the flights acquired with an anticipation of no less than 30 days and for return flights. It will not apply for unique sections.

But from the aeronautical guilds they read the decision as a support to the low cost to the detriment of the traditional airlines, in particular against Aerolíneas and Latam Argentina. This is how the five aeronautical unions opposed to the Government were expressed, headed by the Association of Pilots (APLA). And now those of Aeronavegantes were added. “We express our total disagreement with a measure that is contrary to the commitment expressed on numerous occasions by the Ministry of Transport, which is also detrimental to all companies in the sector and their workers,” argued Brey.

“It is unacceptable the double standard applied by the government that looks for a side to the precarious model of the Low Cost that are to the detriment of the airlines that have been holding the air commercial market for years,” added the union leader.